


Ice Kings(New Version)

by SociallyUnacceptableGinger



Category: Far Cry (Video Games), Far Cry 4
Genre: Ajay Ghale is Actually John Wick, Ajay Needs a Hug, Ajay is an Interloper?, Ajay thinks about everything, Blood and Gore, Can We Go Home Now?, Confused Ajay, Don't Trust The Locals, Everyone Needs Therapy, Explicit Sexual Content, I still don't know how to tag if you've noticed, Just enough angst for it to not to be a rom-com, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pagan Needs a Drink, Pass it on, Protective Ajay, Protective Pagan, Slow Burn, Still probably a rom-com, Yetis Are A Great Big White Nope, Yuma's fucking shit up beyond the grave
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-26
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-03-24 11:41:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13810452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SociallyUnacceptableGinger/pseuds/SociallyUnacceptableGinger
Summary: Ajay Ghale is captured by Pagan after killing Yuma. They end up stranded in The Valley Of The Yeti after their helicopter crashes in the mountains. Pagan survives the crash but he's missing. Why did Pagan bring him out here? Can Ajay overcome his personal feelings and go after him? His strength will be tested against this harsh environment full of never-ending danger. Will he get out alive, or will he be lost like many others before him? Can tentative trust become something else?





	1. Where am I?

**Author's Note:**

> This is it guys. The first chapter. I'm so excited to get back into this story, let's do this! (Also, I'll be uploading every 3 days or so)

   He’s tired. He’s covered in dirt and sweat. Yumas blood clings to the front of his jacket. A splash of sticky crimson. Her body lays at his feet, her lifeless eyes stare up at him and he resists the urge to look away. She’s dead. _Fucking finally._ He doesn’t enjoy killing anyone but she really had it coming. He would’ve felt bad, had she not called his mother a whore. _Big mistake_.

 

He finally tears his eyes away from the corpse to stumble toward the cave entrance. Whatever Yuma blew in his face was still fucking him up somewhat. Hopefully he can make it back to the village in one piece. He leans on the cave wall and works his way out. The sun is nearly blinding after being in that dark space and he blinks harshly to clear his vision. It’s then that he feels a sharp sting in the side of his neck and he sways on his feet.

 

“What the fuck-“ The last thing he sees is a hazy image of someone in a red before he crumples to the ground, unconscious.

 

“…What do you mean, ‘the controls aren’t working’?!”

 

Ajay groggily comes out of unconsciousness to the sound of an alarm and a familiar voice yelling. He hisses as he shifts. He’s tied up and the ropes are digging into his wrists. _Fantastic._ He blinks his eyes open and immediately wishes he hadn’t. He’s in a helicopter with Pagan. Scratch that, he’s in an uncooperative helicopter with a pissed off Pagan. He turns to look out the front of the chopper. In the middle of the Himalayas. _Fuck._ He’s getting slightly light headed and he realizes he’s hyperventilating. He makes himself take slower breaths. The last thing he needs to do is panic. He peers around, the only other person besides Pagan and the pilot is a soldier sitting across from Ajay with a rifle in his lap. He’s glaring at him, daring him to make a move. He would’ve rolled his eyes any other time, but right now he’s more into not dying. He looks back at Pagan, who’s too preoccupied with yelling at the pilot to notice Ajay is awake.

 

“…Well, can you fix it? No? Bloody hell, you’re fucking useless. You would be dead right now if you weren’t operating this thing. Oh wait, You’re not. That’s the fucking problem!-” The pilot, who’s practically vibrating with fear and desperation, attempts to talk Pagan down.

 

“I’m sorry, Sir, but we have to prepare for impact. There’s nothing more I can do, I swear. Our engines been hit. You have to either strap in and hold on, or jump out.”The mans voice comes out steady, despite his outward appearance.

 

Miraculously, Pagan does as he’s told and walks back to the guard with one last venomous glare in the pilots direction. _If looks could kill._ The inside of the helicopter is alight with flashing red lights. The beeping alarm gets louder, nearly unbearably so and the helicopter sways back and forth violently. Ajay feels the icy grip of dread set in. He could very well die right here in this helicopter. With Pagan Min, of all fucking people.  
Finally, Pagan turns his head to look at him. Their eyes lock and he can see anger and a hint of worry in the older mans gaze. For himself or Ajay? There’s something else, though. _Regret? Sadness?_

He doesn’t have time to dwell on that further because the armed guard is standing up and wobbling over to slide the door open. The pilot loses all control a moment later and they’re rushing to meet the ground. He ushers Pagan to jump out first and when he does, the guard reaches over and grabs Ajay. His grip on his arm is painfully tight and Ajay knees him in the stomach. Tries to, anyway. Probably not the best move because the guard slams his face against the metal door frame in response. Ajays ears start ringing but the grip on his arm is gone. He feels the unmistakable sensation of falling and he closes his eyes tightly, preparing for pain. He hears more than feels the impact. The resounding thump of a body hitting snow. Then nothing.

 

 ~

 

He wakes up and immediately feels his stomach churn. He rolls over, pathetically dry heaving into the snow bank he landed in. When it passes Ajay lays there on his side for a moment, panting. He hurts all over, but it’s a dull pain, not the sharp pain of broken bones. Bruised, nothing broken. _Thank, fuck. But how? I had to have fallen at least 25-30 feet._

 

He awkwardly rolls onto his stomach. Standing up is a no-go right now. His hands are still tied up behind his back. He has to get on his knees to see where he is. He pulls his legs under himself, effectively putting himself in a very humiliating position with his ass in the air and his face pressed into the snow. _Thank god there’s no one around to see this_. He uses what strength he has left and lifts himself up using his abdominal muscles. He sits on his knees, groaning in pain. _Fuck the fucking snow_. His hands are painfully numb, every move feels like needle pricks in his palms. His gloves aren’t helping for shit. He looks around after a moment. He appears to be on a cliff. All he can see is snow and rock. Ajay maneuvers himself so he can see over the edge. Well, there’s the helicopter. _What’s left of it, anyway._ It looks like he’s in some sort of snowy, mountainous valley.

 

“Fucking Christ.”

 

His voice sounds foreign to his own ears and he knows it’s because it’s gravelly. His mouth is dry. _I love being surrounded by frozen water that I can’t drink_. He swallows thickly, tears pricking his eyes. He blinks them away angrily. He hates Pagan in this moment more than he ever has. _If you ever did._ He squeezes his eyes shut and clenches his hands into fists. _This is so fucked up. Why are we even out here? The prison isn’t out this far._ He opens his eyes and looks back down the cliff. It isn’t that steep. If he’s careful, he can slip down it. He takes a steadying breath and does just that, using a sharp boulder on the way down to cut the ropes around his wrists.

He pulls his arms around in front of himself with a sigh of relief. His wrists are red and raw. When he gets the feeling back in his hands, that’s gonna sting like a motherfucker. He continues his decent, using his newly freed hands to help avoid rocks. He gets to the bottom and stands up on shaky legs. The helicopter is still smoking, the tail is twisted, and the cab’s crushed like a pop can. Miscellaneous pieces of metal are everywhere. It’s a fucking mess.

 

He could see a body surrounded by blood laying a few feet away from him. He stumbles over to it. It’s the pilot. Ajay ignores the prickling of relief he feels at that. The man has shards of metal and glass sticking out of his midsection. It’s gruesome. He didn’t have a chance. _No time to jump_. Ajay reaches down and pulls the radio out of the mans belt.

 

He does a quick search around the crash site. No sign of Pagan or his asshole guard. His licks at his split lip, he’s sure he has a nice bruise forming on the side of his face as well. _Fucking dick._ He’s gonna enjoy pushing that guard off a cliff. If he isn’t dead already.

 

He does find a med pack and his backpack, so at least he has something to wrap his wrists. He unzips his backpack and frowns. Nothing in it except his kukri and grapple. _Great, Fuckers took my rifle._  
Once his wrists are wrapped in gauze, he heads up the trail. He needs to find some kind of shelter. He feels a pang in his chest. Guilt. He huffs in irritation. Pagan may be a psychopath but if he was alive, freezing to death is a pretty horrible way to go and Ajay’s not a monster. After hearing Yuma say that Pagan was in love with his mother, he can’t leave him to die that way. _Even if the flamboyant asshole got us into this mess_.

 

He can always kill him himself later, anyway. _No you won’t._ After a couple minutes of walking he comes around the corner and notices some weird marks in the snow. He crouches down. They’re foot prints and it looks like someone or something was dragged as well. _Weird._ He jumps as his radio crackles to life.

 

“… _ **get your filthy hands off me…..where are you taking me?!”**_

 

He freezes. _Pagan._

 

Another voice comes over the line. _**“The more you struggle, the worse it’ll be, your highness.”**_ The man spat the word ‘highness’ like it personally offended him to say it. _**“You’ll find out soon enough, anyway.”**_ A pause. _**“….Wait, is that a radio?!”**_ A struggle and the line crackles, going silent.

 

_Fuck._ That doesn’t sound good. Rescuing Pagan from the cold is one thing. Now he would be rescuing him from someone who sounded like he wanted him dead. Should he really go after him? _Why should I risk my life for him?_ He growls and runs his hand through his hair. _Fuck, fine._ If anyone’s killing Pagan, it’ll be him and not some random guy. He quickens his pace. He comes to a bridge over a canyon. The bridge leads to a cave on the other side. He really doesn’t want to go in there. Anything could be in there. Bears. Leopards. Wolves. _Yuma reincarnate_. There’s a chance that Pagan might be in there, though, so he needs to suck it up.

 

He walks in and is assaulted by a weird smelling, orange gas. It’s coming from weird glowing things on the wall and floor. They look like orange mushrooms. _Pagan, if this shit kills me, I’m haunting you forever._ It soon becomes clear that he isn’t alone in the cave. He can hear murmuring up ahead. The grip on his blade tightens involuntarily. He drops into a crouch and looks around the rock he’s behind. There are two of them, and they definitely aren’t Pagans men. They’re wearing dark gray snow suits with red markings and some kind of horned animal skull on their heads. _What the actual fuck?_ _Villagers, maybe?_ One of them has a bow and the other, a knife. They look weird, but maybe they could help him find Pagan and get the hell out of there.

 

 “Um…Hello?” They both spin around and face him at the same time. It would be comical if they didn’t start screaming at him as well.

 

“Kill the interloper!”

 

_Well fuck._ So much for them being friendly. The one with the knife charges at him but Ajay is ready. He grabs the hand with the knife and brings his other arm up, shoving his kukri into the mans chest. He hears a cry from his left. He turns his head, the one with a bow is hurriedly getting an arrow ready. Ajay yanks his kukri out and throws it before the guy can take the shot. The knife lodges in the mans windpipe and Ajay winces. He drops the body he’s holding and walks over. The man isn’t dead yet, he’s just laying there. Gurgling up blood. Ajay takes his kukri out of his neck and stabs him in the chest quickly. He doesn’t like seeing anyone suffer like that. He takes the bow and arrow quiver. _Nothing else is in here, except some weird shrines. No sign of Pagan._ He pulls his kukri out of the guys chest, wiping it on the poor guys jacket before putting it back in his chest holster.

 

He walks back out of the cave and heads along the cliff to a drop. He looks down. Another bridge leading into a cave. _How many fucking caves are there?_ He carefully grapples down and heads into the next cave. _It’s fucking dark in here._ He can barely see where he’s walking so he uses the cave wall as a guide. He nearly falls over as a deep sound erupts so loud it shocks him to his core and makes the walls shake. It sounds like a roar.

 

_What the hell was that?!_ He creeps forward slowly, trying to stay silent even as his blood pumps loudly in his ears. He comes to an opening to the outside and is greeted by the sight of a tent in flames. He comes closer and then stops with a shocked inhale. He’s found Pagans asshole guard. _Well, the upper half of him._ Something ripped him apart, his insides are coming out the bottom of his stomach and there’s a trail of blood leading down the cliff. The bottom half was dragged away. Ajay covers his mouth with a gag. He’s seen a lot of fucked up shit, but nothing comes close to this. _What could have done this?_ Not any animal he’s ever heard of. Ajay looks around the site for the rifle that the guard had and curses when he can’t find it. He’s gonna have to keep going without it.

 

He swallows his fear and heads back up the trail. He comes to the top and can finally get a good look at where they are. It’s definitely a mountainous valley. There’s a forest down below and he can see a wisp of smoke in the distance. _Could be a house or something. Maybe that’s where they took Pagan._

 

He grapples down the side of the mountain, using his feet to descend faster. When he gets to the bottom he sees a road. If you could call it a road. _Looks more like a wide trail._ He follows it, his feet crunching noisily on the snowy gravel. After a while something darts passed the road in front of him and Ajay leaps back, steadying his bow. _Just a fucking rabbit._ Coming to Kyrat has made him way too jumpy. _I need to relax. Everything's fine, I’ll find Pagan, and then we’ll leave. No problem._ He lowers his bow and keeps going.

 

The smoke is coming from a relay station. _That means there’s a radio and a way to contact someone outside of this hell hole_. The problem, though, is that there are at least ten of those horned freaks guarding it. _Fuck._ Ajay grips his bow tighter. He doesn’t have a choice. He’ll have to kill them. After careful consideration, he decides to go with the silent route. He pulls an arrow out and readies it. There’s a guy to his right, standing away from anyone. He takes the shot. No one sees him go down. Ajay continues that way until there’s three left. They’re too close together for him to kill under the radar. It’s then that he spots a small gas tank next to them. If he shoots that, it’ll explode, hopefully taking them out. He shoots. The tank starts whistling and the three guard’s turn to look at it before scrambling away. They hesitate too long and it explodes, throwing their bodies in three different directions.

 

“Holy shit.” Ajay exclaims with a shocked laugh. He didn’t expect that result. _Those little things pack a punch_. He jumps down to search the bodies and check out the area. There are three snow mobiles. _Useful._ A weapon cache. _Fuck, yes_. Lastly, there are a bunch of traps. _I can reinforce this bitch_. All in all, it’s pretty great. Ajay feels better about his chances already. He checks the weapon cache, pulling out a shot gun, a rifle, and a few grenades. That’ll do for now. He walks into the relay station cautiously. Its kind of like a house. It has a closet, two beds, and a bathroom. No kitchen, though. Unfortunately, It’s also empty. No Pagan. Ajay slams his fist on the desk inside.

 

“Goddammit!”

 

Finding Pagan is turning out to be the worst fucking decision. _I can’t give up now, though, I'm already in too deep._ He knocks some papers off the desk with a cry of frustration. There’s the radio sitting underneath them. His eyes widen and he reaches out to click the dial.

 

“Come in. Come in.” Ajay calls out. “Is anyone There? Fucking hell, does this thing even work?” Ajay’s about to give up when the radio crackles.

 

‘ _ **Hello? Yes, yes we’re here. Who is this?’**_

 

Ajay nearly cries in relief. “My name is Ajay Ghale. We crashed in the mountains, somewhere north of Kyrat. The pilot is dead. My…friend was taken by someone. He could be wounded. We need some help.”

 

‘ _ **Okay, Ajay. We are nearby, and will send someone to help. Tell me where you are.”**_ Ajay hesitates. Something feels wrong, but he can’t figure out what. He answers anyway.

 

“…I’m in some sort of radio relay station.”

 

‘ _ **Okay, Ajay. Listen, there’s a storm coming in, stay put for now and we will come for you as soon as we can.’**_ The radio goes silent.

 

Ajay huffs. “Stay right here, huh? Not like I’m a sitting duck or anything.”

 

He looks over at one of the cots longingly. Can’t hurt to lay down for a minute while he waits. He goes over and plops down. He’s asleep before his head hits the pillow.

 

 

 

 


	2. Insanity is a Matter of Opinion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, hell yeah! I know I'm a day late but I spent today making sure the chapter is just how I want it.

 ~

 

 Ajay is startled awake by the radio he took from one of the men he fought the day before.

 

_' **The interloper is inside the radio station!'** _

 

_Shit._ They found him. Ajay swings his feet over the edge of the bed, gathering his weapons before heading outside. It's pitch black out, and quiet, too quiet, Ajay looks down at the radio just as a someone answers the first guy.

 

_**'Then get out there and destroy it. We must purify the valley before the start of the ritual.'** _

 

_**'We're on the way. We'll send everyone we have.'** _

 

_What the fuck? Ritual? Is this some kind of cult or something?_ A flare goes up from the west and Ajay watches as horned soldiers come running toward the station. Ajay fights off three different attacks that night. All coming in different directions, it was almost as if they came in waves. By the time he makes it back into the house, he's exhausted and covered in blood. Not his- The cultists. Fortunately for him, they're terrible at aiming. He doesn't even bother to clean himself up, crashing on top of a cot and falling into a dreamless sleep.

 ~

 He's rudely awakened once more by a radio. “Fuck.” He's so tired and sore. He lift his head. It's the one on the desk this time.

 

' _ **Come in... Are you there?'**_ It's the same man from yesterday.

 

Ajay rushes over and clicks the dial. “Hello? Who is this?”

 

_**'Did you enjoy my little rescue party last night?”** _

 

_What? No wonder I had a bad feeling. This guy is with the cultists._ Ajay scoffs. “Yeah, a real blast. Who the hell are you?”

 

_**'It does not matter who I am. What matters is that I have what you're looking for, and they won't last much longer.'** _

 

_Wow, okay. It's too fucking early for anyone to be this cryptic._ “Look, asshole, I don't know who you think you have-”

 

The man interrupts him. _**'I have your king. He's the one we shot down.'**_

 

_Shit._ He has Pagan and he shot their chopper down. _Why? Also...My king?_ Hilarious. He thinks he's one of Pagans men.

 

“So what do you want?” _What the fuck do I have to do to get him from you?_

 

_**'What do I want? I want you.'**_ Ajay feels a wave of disgust that abates when the man continues. **_'I want you to rescue him, so I can look upon you and judge your worth in the eyes of Yalung.'_**

 

Of course this guy would worship a demon. Ajay is more determined now to save Pagan, just so he can go kill this crazy motherfucker keeping him captive.

 

 “And if I don't come?”Ajay tests anyway because he's a little shit like that.

 

_**'Then your king dies.'** Great._

 

“That's fucked up.” Ajay mutters. The man gives him coordinates and the radio goes silent once more.

 ~

 The coordinates end up leading up the mountain next to the relay station. At the end of the ascent, he comes to a cave. _This looks familiar._ It's the same cave that leads to the helicopter crash he escaped from. He rushes through it, his mind racing. _What if it's a trap? There's no way it's not a trap. What if they already killed Pagan?_ Ajay feels his stomach drop at the thought. _Nope, not going there. Why do these things always happen to me? Fuck._

 He comes to the bridge from before. The one leading into the cave shrine. With the orange mushrooms. _Fantastic_. Before he can cross someone tackles him into the snow. They struggle and eventually Ajay gets the upper hand, stabbing the person in the stomach with his kukri. It's one of the cultists. He scrambles up, looking for more of them. He hears a whistle and an arrow buries itself in the cliff wall beside his head. He turns to look, there's another cultist with a bow on the other side of the bridge.

 Ajay pulls out his own bow and dodges another arrow. “Shit.” It grazes his arm and Ajay cusses. He pulls his arrow back and shoots the guy in the head. He peers around, panting. _That's it? Only two? Oh yeah, it's a trap._ Ajay ignores his negative thoughts, heading into the cave. If he wasn't on edge already, he'd think the cave was empty. All he can hear is quiet breathing somewhere to his left, next to the shrine. He peers through the cloud of orange gas. _Fuck, it's Pagan._ He's unconscious with his head hanging down, blonde hair hiding his face from view. His hands are tied and he's in a black snow suit instead of his peacoat but it's definitely him. Upon closer inspection Ajay notices that he has a split lip, but looks otherwise unharmed. _I have to get him out of here._

 Just as he reaches behind Pagan to cut the ropes he hears a shuffle behind him. He turns too late and he sees a man that looks a little different from the rest of the cultists standing there. The man hits Ajay in the face with the butt of a rifle, effectively rendering him unconscious.

 

 

_**...You will face Yalungs judgment...** _

 

 

_**...You will be tested...** _

 

 

_**...Should you fail...** _

 

 

_**...Yes, should you fail...** _

 

 

_**...You will yearn for deaths embrace...** _

 

~

 The next time Ajay opens his eyes, he's alone in a cave. He groans and stands up. _What happened?_ He remembers finding Pagan and being hit in the face but that's about it. _Fuck, what's up with people targeting my face?_ He frantically searches for his bag. It's gone. Taken. No weapons. No grappling hook. No flashlight. _Fuck me_. He startles when he hears a loud yell from up ahead followed by a roar. There's a shadow of something large on the cave wall. It's holding a squirming person. The person looks masculine. Ajay scrambles back when it rips the mans head off with another roar before running off. _Hell no! What the fuck was that thing?_

 He has got to find a way out of there. He heads further into the cave. He comes to a drop and takes a running leap to get across. He keeps going and jumps up on the next ledge. He pauses, just hanging there when he hears it. Sickening crunching sounds. As if someone's eating something. He peers over the edge and has to hold his breath to keep from screaming.

 There's a....large white humanoid creature. Bigfoot? _No, a yeti,_ his mind supplies. The thing has red eyes and blood pouring from its mouth in an endless stream. It's eating a person and Ajay stifles a gag. It turns it's head and Ajay quickly ducks down. He hears another yell. This one he recognizes. _Pagan_. The yeti gets up and takes off towards the sound. Ajay pulls himself up and sprints after it, ignoring his instinct to run away. He comes to another drop, this time he can see what's down below. It's a large cave room with two large support pillars. The one in front of him has an opening. He can see a body with a rope and a grappling hook inside it. Someone tried to get out. But how was he supposed to get over there? He looks to the pillar on the right. In has a bunch of holes in the bottom, perfect for hiding inside.

 Ajay slides down as silently as he can given the situation. When he gets to the bottom he stops and listens for a moment. He can hear something making grunting sounds and what sounds like splashing water. Ajay walks toward the right pillar, keeping an eye out for whatever is making those noises. Unfortunately, the thing he's watching for is right by the pillar. The yeti is trying to reach something inside it, occasionally snarling. A small splash makes the yeti look right at him. Ajay looks down and curses. He stepped in a puddle. The yeti roars and charges at him, missing when Ajay leaps to the side. He lands with a splash, he's tossed himself into a shallow stream. The yeti swings around to face him. Ajay struggles up and runs for the pillar, sliding into one of the many holes in the bottom.

 He crouches under there, watching through the hole for the yeti. It looks like it cant figure out where he went. _Good._ Ajay sits there panting and curses every god he knows for letting anything like that exist. There's no way this could get any worse at this point. A white face appears in his line of vision. _Shit, I was wrong._ There are two of them. The yetis furry hand reaches in and grasps at him but someone wraps an arm around his middle, pulling him back. His back ends up flush against a soft body. Which would usually be a nice thing, except he doesn’t know whose body it is. He struggles in the grip, only relaxing when a smooth voice drawls next to his ear.

 “Fucking hell, my boy, are you trying to get yourself killed?”

 Ajay turns around, the arm letting him go. He can make out Pagan in the darkness, he's leaning against the rock behind him. Pagans hand is now rubbing his shoulder with a wince. The arm connected to the shoulder is laying limply at Pagans side. _It's dislocated._ Even though he's got to be in immense pain he's still smiling weakly at Ajay.

 Ajay is thrown off by the genuine look. _Why is he smiling at me?_

 “What are you doing here?” He asks stupidly.  _Really, Ajay?_   Worst fucking question.

 Pagan only snorts at him, looking away. “Same as you, I suppose. Trying not to die, although that appears to be pointless when we're trapped in here.”

 He says it so casually that Ajay has an urge to slap him, but he's seen the man stab someone with a pen so he refrains. Pagan doesn't need an actual weapon to kill someone. A fact that is just as impressive as it is terrifying.

 "You look like you fell face first through a wall, by the way"." Pagan adds, looking back at him with a teasing grin.

 Ajays mind floods with things to say. _Of course my face looks horrible! Your stupid guard slammed it into a metal frame! Another guy hit me in the face with the butt of a rifle! Why are we even here? Who are these people? Weren’t we on our way to Durgesh? Why are you so fucking calm?! Also, fuck you very much for kidnapping me!_

 “What happened to your arm?” He asks instead. 

 He already knows but he wants Pagan to confirm it. Anything to distract from the fact that now that he's found Pagan he has no idea what to say that isn’t an argument. _I'll yell at him when we get out of here._

 “It's out of commission. Dislocated. That tends to happen when a mindless beast throws you around like a rag doll.” Pagan answers with scowl. Ajay looks him over for other injuries, satisfied when he sees none. He tells Pagan that he saw a grappling hook in the other pillar.

 “That's great to hear, darling, but it won't do me any good when I can't use this arm.” Pagan points out dryly, gesturing to said appendage.

 Ajay feels his face flush against his will from the endearment. He's suddenly very thankful for the darkness. When the words register he can't help but be annoyed. He didn't go through all this shit just to leave Pagan behind.

 “Then, we'll find another way. I'm not leaving you in here.” Ajay snaps adamantly, shocking himself and Pagan with the severity of his tone.

 Pagan frowns and looks away. “The golden path would thank you if you did.” He says quietly, bitterly.

 “Probably.” Ajay says simply. “But my mother wouldn't.” At that Ajay shuffles out the hole, feeling Pagans eyes burning a hole in his back.

 He can see one of the yetis under the only light in the cave. It's crouched a few feet away from him, under what appears to be an opening in the cave ceiling. _That's our way out._ He looks at the other pillar, seeing the hole in the bottom of it. He runs for it, hearing an enraged roar behind him as feet splash through the water. He slides into the hole just as the second yeti appears around the corner. It was waiting behind the pillar, as if it knew he was going to go in there. They’re intelligent, he can't make the mistake of underestimating them. He pulls himself up on the ledge inside. _Finally_. He picks up the grappling hook next to the body. The body of the man isn't that old, he'd say it's been there less than a week. _They've been feeding people to these guys. As what? Sacrifices?_ They need to get the hell out of there, these people are insane.

 Ajay sprints back to Pagan, grappling hook held up like a state fair prize. He slides into the hole and is immediately confused as to why it's empty underneath.

  “I'M RIGHT HERE, COME GET ME YOU BIG WHITE CUNTS!!”

  _Pagan, you crazy son of a bitch._

Ajay rushes out of the hole and spots Pagan waving his good arm and yelling obscenities at the yetis.

 “Pagan, what the hell are you doing!?” Ajay screams at him, more than a little frantic.

 “I won't let you risk your life for me!” Pagan yells back. “I'm not worth it, my boy. I made a promise to your mother years ago and I intend to keep it. Go, Ajay!”

 He can only watch helplessly as Pagan runs toward the sound of the yetis roaring. Ajay can't even think, he runs blindly for the opening and throws the grappling hook. It catches on the edge and he climbs up. He feels like a spectator in his own body, seeing everything but unable to do much. He gets to the top and turns to look down the hole, desperately searching for any sign of Pagan.

 

There!

 

Pagan's running back towards him. Hope flares in Ajays chest and an idea springs to the the front of his mind.

 “Pagan, grab the rope!” Ajay calls down.

 “Ajay, my arm-!”

 “Just do it!”

 He does and Ajay plants his feet and starts pulling. Pagan is heavy but Ajay has carried heavier. He Grabs Pagans hand when he's pulled up enough and hauls him over the edge. They both lay there on their backs panting.

 “You're crazy, you know that?” Ajay manages after a moment.

 Pagan laughs breathlessly. Ajay relishes the soft sound and wants him to keep making it.

 “So I've been told, darling.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, Ajay. You got a big storm coming. 
> 
> Don't forget to read and review, guys. Writing without any feedback is like driving a car blindfolded.


	3. UPDATE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The complete story will be posted in August 2018. I decided to write the whole thing and post it all in one go. I apologize for the confusing wait. Thank you all for bearing with me on this emotional roller-coaster of a story. Will it ever get done???? It will. Don’t you worry.
> 
>  
> 
> Anyway, I just wanted to give you guys a little background information on Ajay. It’s said that he grew up in the United States but it didn’t say where. So I decided to go with wherever his voice actor, James woods, is from. Can’t do that it turns out, because he’s from Canada. Oh well. I chose somewhere up north because it’s the next best thing. So my version of Ajay grew up in Seattle, Washington. Going by the way he was dressed and his accent it seemed like a good fit.
> 
>  
> 
> I also went ahead and found some pictures to show you guys of what I think Ajay looked like in his youth.

**Ajay Ghale: Age 4** **(A year after moving from Kyrat)**

 

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**Ajay Ghale: Age 8**

 

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**Ajay Ghale: Age 10**

 

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**Ajay Ghale: Age 17** **(Being a general menace and troublemaker around this age)**

 

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**Ajay Ghale: Age 26** **(Current, more serious and somber Ajay)**

 

If the pictures don't load for whatever reason you can see them on my Tumblr here:  

[SociallyUnacceptableGinger](http://sociallyunacceptableginger.tumblr.com/)


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